airport drama.

wow. it's good to be home. I HOPE that I don't have to fly with an infant by myself again! but for all the craziness, Graham did WONDERFUL!
here's the rundown....
through fedex we have the option of flying stand-by on Southwest ($90) or Airtran ($150). Airtran flys out an hour away from us, Southwest - 30 minutes. So when my grandpa passed away and I was trying to get home for the funeral, obviously I wanted to go with Southwest. However, airtran had 4 flights going to Mpls. that day, Southwest had one possibility! So we decided to go with Airtran to make sure I got there. This was an important flight because if I didn't get there on friday, I would miss the funeral. However, when we went to get a ticket, Airtran had changed their procedure and it would take 3-4 days to get a ticket. So we ended up (very nervously!) going with SW. prayer #1 answered - my ticket came the next day!
So with many prayers, I woke Graham up at 5 am on friday and we headed to the airport.
These tickets are SUCH a blessing, especially in how high airfare can run, but it is STRESSFUL never knowing whether you'll get on your flight or spend the day in the airport. 2 factors - missing the funeral and doing it with an infant were giving me nightmares about what the day could bring!
Since we're #4 on the stand-by priority list, we have to wait until the last minute (if it's a full flight) to know if we can get on.
Finally...graham & I were allowed to board, bound for Chicago!! prayer #2 - answered!!! Since it was full, he had to sit on my lap for the 2 hour flight which wasn't the most comfortable for either of us, but at least we were on!!
Flight #2 - Chicago to Mpls. plenty of seats, we got right on and Graham even got his own seat where he sat in his carseat - and slept the whole flight!! prayer #3 - answered!!!
So we arrived...so thankful we were able to be there for the weekend's events and graham was able to meet his MANY relatives!!

Let me stop for a minute and SING, SING, SING, Southwest's praises!! every employee was so kind, so helpful, SO great. I am a loyal customer for life and highly recommend them. AND there are still no baggage fees AND they still give you snacks on the flights! :) more on some star employees later...

So coming back became a little more interesting. Flight #1 was a little tight, but I still ended up getting on with graham getting his own seat as well. prayer #4 - answered! We were supposed to stop in Chicago, but not get off the flight. So everyone that wasn't going on, got off. After a few minutes they told us that the flight was going to be delayed and we were going to have to get off after all. BUT they said we could leave carry-on stuff on the seats and come back. So as we exited, most of the employees were already gone, except for a flight attendant and pilot. I asked about the possibility of getting my stroller that was stowed. Anyone that has held Graham, knows that carrying him around for an hour would just about kill me. :) STAR EMPLOYEE #1 - the pilot himself said he could go look for it - and he did and found it. I'm sure that's not in his job description! thank you so much Mr. Pilot. (this turned into an even more important event after the next 30 minutes!)
So we're walking around, killing time, and a guy comes up to me that is taking the same flights as me. He said there is another Baltimore flight leaving right now and if you don't get on it, you will miss your Norfolk connection. great. So I scramble to the counter - 2 problems - since I am stand-by I technically don't have a ticket to change flights, and my car seat and bag are sitting on the other airplane. The counter lady told me, the flight is leaving right now and I need about 15 minutes to get you on that plane. So I kind of thought it was over, and then she said, you go get on that plane, I'll go get your stuff off the other airplane. really??!! STAR EMPLOYEE #2!! prayer #5 - answered! She did, and I got my stuff and somehow she made the ticket thing work!! So now you see how much worse it would have been if my stroller had stayed stowed on that plane! I knew my luggage that was stowed on the plane was not going with us, but at that point I didn't care. The stroller would have been a bigger issue though!
So, we get to Baltimore, there are storms there and everything is delayed both coming and going. Our flight ended up being delayed about 45 minutes - 2 blessings here - #1 G-man had a blow-out diaper. if that would have happened on the flight, it would have been BAD! airplane bathrooms aren't exactly condusive to changing diapers. #2 I also hadn't eaten in 8 hours, so it gave me a chance to grab a quick bite. SO, we finally got on our plane and landed about 10:30 pm. home sweet, sweet home. prayer #6 - answered! Did I mention Graham should have been in bed 3 hours before this, and he was a trooper!! no screaming or meltdowns. He even had some smiles for daddy when we finally saw him!
So at Norfolk I was at the baggage office trying to determine where my bag might possibly be or end up. I got all those details taken care off and then as we were leaving the airport, there was a bag on the terminal that looked familiar...sure enough it was my bag!! I don't even know how that ended up coming with us, but wow. prayer #7 - answered!!! God answered more prayers on this trip that I could have ever imagined. It was a long day, but there are so many things that could have made the day so much worse!!
So, thank you, awesome Southwest - you're the best airline!
thank you, Graham, for being such a good traveler, despite the craziness.
(I'm so bummed I didn't get a pic of his first plane ride! too much stress swirling around!)
thank you, God, for allowing us to make all of our flights, for grace through the day, and for caring about even the small details!